Adventures in Curse Breaking: Dragon Treasure

Gringotts Bank

Once you worked up the courage to do it, sneaking out of Hogwarts was incredibly easy. Floo powder would take them to Diagon Alley easily enough, but the trick was to find the right fireplace. 

The ministry tracked use of the Floo Network. If Sarah and Charlie left from any of the Hogwarts fires, Dumbledore might be notified. So, after lessons the following day, they joined many of the other students outside in the courtyard. They'd changed out of their Hogwarts robes, and wandered nonchalantly in the direction of the magical creatures paddock. Once they were sure no one was watching, they altered their course and hurried down to the gate and the village of Hogsmeade. 

They'd changed clothes so they'd be hard to recognize and random passersby were less likely to turn them in, but once they'd arrived at the Hog's Head Inn it didn't matter. Nobody there would care. They ordered a couple of butterbeers (it was Abeforth's policy not to let anyone use his fireplace unless they were a paying customer) and guzzled them down, before heading to the fire. Charlie pulled a small, leather pouch from his pocket and tossed a pinch of floo powder into the fire. The flames turned green and they stepped inside, enjoying the slight tickling sensation of the flames. 

"Diagon Alley," said Charlie. The two held each other tightly as they were sucked away, spinning in a kaleidoscope of colors and passing hundreds of fireplace hearths. 

When they popped out at Diagon Alley, they took a moment to collect themselves from the dizzying experience before hurrying to the bank, trying not to draw too much attention. 

They pulled open the large, golden doors into the main building, staring around at the grand room. Goblins sat at high desks counting money and weighing precious gems. A few witches and wizards were lined up to speak with a goblin in the front about their money. The sounds echoed through the high-ceilinged room. Sarah looked up to see giant, shimmering chandeliers that looked to be pure diamond. the floor, walls, and pillars were made of exquisite marble. 

"Not a bad work environment," said Sarah.

"If you can get past all the angry-looking goblins," muttered Charlie. "How're we gonna find Bill?" 

They moved forward into the hall, until one of the goblins at the tall desks stopped them. "Can I help you?" he asked, eyeing them suspiciously. 

"We're hoping to speak with Bill Weasley," said Sarah. "It's about his work."

"Oh, you're hoping to speak with him?" said the grey-haired goblin. "Just going to stroll down to his office because you've got something to say, are you?"

"Going to sneak a peak at some gold that isn't there's, more likely," said a red-haired goblin at the neighboring desk. "I don't trust them, Odbert. Best to send them packing."

"We're not thieves," said Charlie. "Bill's my brother. We just want to see--"

"If he is your brother," said Odbert, "you can see him after work. Otherwise, get lost."

"But--"

"Charlie? Sarah? What're you two doing here?" Bill was striding toward them, his brow knit with suspicion. Another goblin walked beside him. This one had brown hair and angry black eyes.

"Friends of yours, Mr. Weasley?" asked the goblin. 

"Criminals, I suspect," said the red-haired goblin. "Not to be trusted, Griphook."

"Thank you, Burgock. I will take over from here."

Bill spoke to Charlie. "You can't just ambush me at work."

"Then don't run off when we're trying to talk to you," he answered. "We want to go with you to Romania."

Bill's expression became stern. "I told you, I can't take you with me, no matter how much you like dragons."

"Fan of dragons, eh?" said the goblin, Griphook. "So was Urgruff the Unwary."

"Who's that?" asked Sarah.

"Urgruff was one of the finest goblins smiths who ever lived, which is to say he was one of the finest smiths that ever lived, and he knew it. He boasted that he could make a perfect replica of a dragon's egg out of pure gold. He was right. It was perfect. Too perfect. A mother dragon mistook it for one of her own and torched his smithy, taking the egg from the ashes."

"That's horrible."

"Is it? He reaped the bitter fruits of his hubris, but his name will live forever. Some would call that a victory. Still, the loss of such a valuable artifact rankles. That egg belongs to the goblins. Which brings me to the details of your next assignment, Mr. Weasley."

He walked over to an empty desk. Bill shot Sarah and Charlie a nasty look, but they followed him over anyway. Griphook hopped up a stepladder and sat behind his desk before continuing. 

"We suspect the same dragon who stole Urgruff's egg now inhabits the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. Find it and bring it back here. We will provide you with a portkey when you are ready to leave. Of course, due to unnecessary laws, you must try not to harm the dragon, but do whatever it takes to find the egg. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," said Bill. "I'll study up on dragons and head to the sanctuary as soon as possible."

"We'll do everything we can to help him get that egg, Mr. Griphook," said Sarah. 

"Even if he doesn't want us to!" added Charlie. 

"I don't care what you do, so long as you understand that Gringotts is neither responsible to pay you for any services, or to compensate your for any maiming."

They nodded eagerly. 

"I'll escort you out," said Bill through gritted teeth. 

Bill all but threw them out of the golden doors. He stood in the doorway, glaring down at them. "For the last time, you're not coming with me!"

Charlie started to argue, but Sarah cut him off. 

"At least let us help you prepare," she said. "You said you needed to study dragons, and you know Charlie would be the best help you could get."

"Right," said Charlie. "I can tell you everything you need to know about the sanctuary."

"I don't know," said Bill.

"We just want to help you," said Sarah. 

He paused. Both of them gave him their sweetest smiles. Finally, his scowl broke into a grin. "Oh, alright. I'll meet you in the Hog's Head after work tomorrow."

"Great," said Sarah. She grabbed Charlie and started dragging him down the steps. "See you."

"Not that I'm complaining about studying dragons," said Charlie, as they hurried back down the alley, "but how is that going to get us into the sanctuary?"

"Trust me," said Sarah. "I've persuaded Bill to do a lot of things he never thought he'd do when he was at school. You've got to whittle him down little by little." 

"You can be a malicious as Merula sometimes, you know that?"